Cennini Artist Technical Boot Camp - Haverhill Massachusetts

This is the Artist Boot Camp Studio with Rob Howard.

Located in Haverhill (pronounced Hayv•rill - long "a" and not too much "r") a very quaint New England town of about sixty thousand. It was a beautiful sunny autumn day in the middle of a picturesque downtown. (pictures take up one way and down the other.)




Meet Rob Howard, Master Painter and Instructor. A brilliant man and fine instructor. His knowledge of the chemistry of painting is phenomenal.

This is one of his paintings that he used to demonstrate how to apply a finish using Gallery Varnish and Wax Medium.

Meet a few of the boot camper, fellow artists…a really diverse group from all of the US and Canada. All of us agreed that this experience definitely improves our skills and abilities.
Personally speaking, this is to me a turning point in my life. I learned so much that I am trying to absorb it today. It has given me some self-confidence that I have never had with regards to actually moving to a (horrors) white canvas with much more deliberation and less experimentation. I learned about all of the different supports available rather than wood and canvas; how to properly stretch and prepare a support, what all the mediums actually do and where to use them, what the brushes are actually made for, how to guild gold leaf properly, how to properly finish a completed painting and pack it for transport to a gallery, the importance of lead in paint, how to do a verdaccio and glaze it, how to glaze under painting, tips and tricks I had never thought of, what is silver point, how to grind emulsions with egg yoke, how to tube paint, etc., etc., etc. (I could go on...)

My plan is to attend the Art Camp and the Portrait Camp...meanwhile, I'm painting!!!!

EDIT UPDATE: Just finished the Art Boot Camp in February 2008. Visit my new review. This also delivered another growth spurt in my abilities and I highly recommend it. See my slide show.